We have had some fantastically fun and successful play dates - wahooo!

I have baked.

I have read books.
We had our five year wedding anniversary and went out for dinner. Something we haven't done since our 4 year anniversary :)
Dom has had tremors for which we had an EEG - never a dull moment on the spectrum!

I have been taking lots of photos for instagram - I am on it a lot, if you want to follow me.

I made my first Acai bowl - thanks to my buddy Piera.
I have perfected porridge.
I have developed an addiction to chia pudding.
I also purchased some beautiful bedlinen from Oh Mabel - so gorgeous.

I have reevaluated and thought long and hard about ways I can incorporate 'me time' and creativity back into my life. Thanks to Pip, I think am onto something...
And yoga. I am going to start yoga.

I taught myself to crochet - quite the achievement. This is something I have been wanting to do for ages.

I have cleaned frantically.
Long story, but my goodness I am efficient when I am high on steroids!

We have decluttered - majorly. A thoroughly enjoyable process.
In short, if we don't love it or use it, it has been donated. Sarah, you would be proud!

We nearly sold our house.
Property developers have hit town, but we missed out on a great opportunity because we have greedy, stupid,* insert any really offensive swear word here* neighbours.

In short, we are surrounded by clowns.... I have always freakin hated clowns.

So, we have now resigned ourselves to the fact that we are staying in our little shanty, at least for the next few years, albeit surrounded by apartments. It's going to be tough, but no doubt like everything else, we will get through it. We love our little 'perfectly imperfect home,' but remain disillusioned at how quickly Brisbane City Council are willing to consider knocking down beautiful old Queenslanders, all for the sake of progress. The beautiful houses that make our city as special as it is.

So, to distract myself and eager to embark on a minor decorating project, my imagination has been running wild with ideas to introduce indoor plants to our home. We live in the perfect house for indoor plants and over the next few months, I am determined to build up collection, creating a really special space for us to enjoy.

Saturday, April 4, 2015

Grocery shopping has been an extraordinarily difficult task for us for a while now. Yes, yes, yes we do online shopping, but when your child consumes yoghurt and strawberries in epic proportions, one needs to go to the shops most days.

Until Dom was identified as having Autism, we had no idea from a sensory processing point of view, how stressful going to the shops was for him. I should however clarify, we were acutely aware of how stressful shopping with Dominic was for us! :)

You see when you have Autism, your senses are heightened to ridiculous levels.

Sensory overload = meltdown, or at best socially undesirable behaviour.

When you and I go to the shops, the glaring fluorescent lights don't bother us too much, nor does the tragic music pumping down isle 2, people talking and laughing, the colour of all the fruits and vegetables, sound of airconditioners, beeping of scanners, hum of refrigerator's, temperature down the frozen food isle - are you getting my drift? All these things and so much more, we can regulate and pretty much 'tune out to'.

When I shop, the noise of music and temperature of the frozen food isle, doesn't cause me enormous distress and make me feel like my head is going to explode! The same can't be said for my little friend, and other people on the spectrum. So with our new found understanding of Autism, I have been determined to create positive feelings and rituals (that's self talk people) when going to the shops - and I am pleased to report, we have come a LONG way - well, on most days.

Our shopping ritual goes something like this. We discuss in much detail prior to leaving the car, the importance of Dom holding my hand AT ALL TIMES. Dom will then take off like a crazed lunatic (once we are in the shops thanks very much) straight to Valentino's to 'high five' the coffee shop owner's, Dom and Rita. Dom loves them and they make a huge fuss of him - 'Ciao bello'. I usually then grab a coffee so as to prevent me from loosing the plot - or tearing my hair out - one of the two.

We then run past two ATM's ( we have reduced this number significantly - two is good!), where Dominic is allowed to press numbers on the proviso that he doesn't bellow out my PIN number (this has happened!). We then watch the escalators, marveling at modern day technology all before we finally get into a trolley and actually attempt to grocery shop. Of course by this stage, I have received the obligatory smile from a stranger and a comment like, 'You got a live one there'.

Starting off in the fruit and vegetable section, I casually show Dom different fruits and vegetables - encouraging him to touch, taste and smell the different produce. I am a miracle mum after all - calm and poised in the face of chaos and unpredictable behaviour from my child - always providing my child educational opportunities. That's just the way we roll (ha!!!). Dom on the other hand is usually too busy yelling out the numbers flashing on the board in the deli section, 'Look mum it's 67. Pop is number 67!'.

On this particular day, I had passed Dom a large, hard, green pear. I encouraged him to touch it. He screwed up his face as he gingerly clasped it in his little paws, staring blankly at me as if to say, 'Lady, you have finally lost the plot. What is it I am meant to do with this thing? It was then that I turned my head but for a millisecond, just in time to see him javelin throw the pear across the fruit and vegetable section of Coles.

It soared in slow motion, glistening in the bright light, heading directly for an immaculately dressed woman.

I gasped in horror, just in time to see the young women narrowly miss having a pear bopp her between the eyes. I received the predictable stares and shaking of the head from an elderly couple (why are they always so critical?), but thankfully the girl who nearly lost her life to the pear (and my child), just laughed.

I turned to Dom hissing quietly, 'That is unacceptable behaviour mister'. The girl then smiled at me and said, 'You have to admit, that was pretty funny'. I apologised profusely.

As we took off I couldn't help but giggle. Dom of course was oblivious to the near miss saying, 'Mummy angry. Oh no. Mummy not happy. Dominic get some yoghurt? I give you a kiss'.

He is so lucky he is outrageously, deliciously cute.

A wise friend reminded me recently of the importance of humour. Some days we find ourselves in the most outrageously stressful situations. On this day however, I chose to laugh.

Dominic and I carried on with our shopping. Dom sucked back on his yoghurt (I bloody hate those things) without a care in the world, I purchased the new 'Inside Out' to read well, who knows when :).

Monday, January 12, 2015

We are but a few weeks into 2015 and I am already in a 'tizz' - how is it that Christmas and New Year have come and gone?

We had our first calm and happy Christmas with Dom.

We carefully orchestrated the day so as to not overwhelm him like we have done years prior. There was controlled enthusiasm on receiving gifts, not the squealing and shrieks of excitement from yours truly, but gentle smiles and encouragement. I have to say, it worked a treat. We had an 'emergency vehicle' themed Christmas, where Dom received two ambulances that both flash blue lights furiously and make the most horrible noise, much to our distress but Dominic's enjoyment.

We played happily with beautiful cousins, and enjoyed yummy food. It was perfect.

Last Christmas I cried out of despair that my little boy was so unhappy and distressed. He screamed hysterically as his cousins played happily in their pool - 'I don't know what's wrong with him?'...

I think I must have repeated that over and over again that day.

This year with the diagnosis of Autism, although our hearts were broken, we now understand Dominic so much more, and he is clearly thriving as a result. My little family has come out of 2014 stronger, wiser and more resilient than ever. We have a long road ahead of us, but we have come out of 2014 feeling happy, loved, determined and so supported.

We have spent the past couple of weekends chilling out. Incorporating early intervention here and there, watching trains (of course), listening to music, talking about numbers and our favourite episodes of 'Thomas the tank engine' - enjoying each others company.

I have a few New Years goals - not resolutions so much, but goals.

Since Dom's diagnosis, I feel as though our little family has stopped taking risks. We keep Dom strapped in his pram in public, in fear of him having a meltdown or running off to the nearest ATM to press numbers furiously. Any peep that he has made at the shops we have felt stressed out about, despite the fact that other children of the same age are all screaming and demanding at the shops too. Yet somehow, we feel as though everyone is looking at us! Silly, I know. So, I declare 2015 about taking risks and being brave.

We are going to go on short holidays. We are going to the park and to have more play dates - with what time I am not sure, but the intention is absolutely there. And we are going to walk! We are out of the pram people with our heads held high ;) As you can imagine my list is a mile long, but you get my drift.

On the weekend for the first time ever, Dominic and I walked to my parents house. They live 10 minutes away, 25 minutes if you stop to look at the ducks on the brook and talk to the dogs at the dog park.

Dom was running ahead of me and kept turning around and smiling - a truly contented and beautiful little smile. At one point he was strolling next to me and he looked up and said, 'Dominic happy, Mum'.

I could have cried... ok, I did get teary.

This year with my lovely little blog, I am not committing to any writing schedule. If I can get a post up every week, I am doing well. In the meantime, I am 'all over' instagram like a crazy woman, so you can always find us there.

Sunday, October 12, 2014

Meet
me at Mikes is one of my favourite blogs. PipLincolneis seriously clever and crafty,
and comes up with some great ideas for her blog. She started the idea of 'TakingStock' and I thought I
would give it a go - giving you an idea of what we have been up to since my
last post, in a more interesting format.

Drinking : Coffee..
Far.too.much.coffee.

Reading: (read) Alexandra Cameron's
'The Gift' - It was great! Otherwise have been immersing myself in this months
Inside Out, Home Beautiful and Real Living magazine's.

Wanting: So many things from Gorman's spring
collection - the colours and fabrics are amazing. This is a purchase I will definitely be making.
This Bohemian Traders skirt and dress are a must purchase too.

Marvelling: At all the beautiful gardens
we pass on our daily walk.

Needing: More hours in the day -
preferably for sleep and reading.

Smelling: Jasmine when we go for our
daily walks.

Wearing: skirts... lots of skirts and
dresses this spring/summer.

Following: Styling You... I love
Nikki's blog. She has great ideas on creating your own sense of style..
something I feel I have lost lately.

Noticing: Flowering Jacaranda trees. I
found one lone purple flower on our back deck early last week, looked up and
their she is - our Jacaranda Tree flowering in all her glory!

Knowing: A little bit more about Mental
Illness after watching 'Changing Minds' on the ABC
this week. Did you watch it? Yes, we did watch Jack's story too and
were equally amazed :) Such is the power of early intervention for children
with Autism.

Thinking: Probably too much... as
usual :)

Feeling: Positive and eager all mixed
together.

Sorting: Out my piles of paperwork. I
am so disorganised it is a disgrace!

Buying: Or should I say paying, for
a root canal - I am getting so old, even my teeth are dying :)

Getting: Excited about Christmas and
having a little bit of time off - bliss.

Disliking:Blogs that are preaching about dietary changes and
becoming sugar free. I am a big believer in healthy eating but 'hello'! I love
Pete Evans cookbook but he plummeted in my estimations earlier this month when
he commented that following a Paleo Diet
would reduce the occurrence of ASD.
What the? No doubt that a healthy, additive and preservative free diet for
children is ideal. Read this article for
the story.

Opening: Bills.... blah.

Giggling: At the funny little things
my little mate says...

Snacking: Nuts and home made yoghurt.

Wishing: I could find my sunglasses.

Helping: Clean up the garden.

Hearing: Little Butcher Birds
chirping from a nest outside.

Covetting: One of these (below). You
will be mine Lovestar vase. The perfect
birthday present.. hint.. hint.. :)

x

Sunday, September 14, 2014

So, where are we at. We now have a certain diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Not provisional as we first thought. We found out Wednesday. I cried. It wasn't as if it was a shock, or something we did not already suspect but hearing it from Dom's Developmental Paediatrician who is renowned for being very conservative and cautious in diagnosing children, let alone our darling little three year old with a life long disability (Autism), it seemed awfully final. The Paediatrician apologised. With most illnesses you can pop a pill, take antibiotics and the illness and symptoms in time subside. Early intervention will no doubt help Dom considerably (we hope), but Autism will be with us forever. Having said that, we are actually doing pretty well and my little mate is as happy as ever.

Dom needs determined people to advocate for him and he has found those people in our family, particularly in me - I am fiery at the best of times! We are determined to take early intervention 'by the horns' and not let Autism take over our lives or the happiness of our family. Autism will not define Dominic, but will know doubt provide him with ample challenges.

A friend suggested that I write a post about the signs and symptoms of Dom's Autism and when I first realised something wasn't quite right. I can't really put my finger on it, and having said that there is a lot of normal 2-3 year old behaviours that can potentially be 'red flags' for ASD.

I certainly have had considerable concerns about Dom's behaviour since he turned two and overtime as he has matured, these concerns have only intensified.

Yes, in retrospect I feel like an idiot. I am a Child Health Nurse and Midwife. How could I not have noticed the signs earlier? I have thought long and hard about this. Not in a critical way - I can't turn back time and I know that I am a good mum. But I honestly think that we have been (and still are) so consumed in the perfection of our little boy, that we just unconditionally accepted/accept his 'quirks'.

So, where to start. Dom has never liked to be cuddled. As a baby he would almost balance

when you held him as opposed to leaning in and snuggling. I am pleased to say that we have worked hard on this and he will now 'allow' me to give him cuddles. I say 'allow' because he will rarely seek them from me. I think it is fair to say that Dom 'tolerates' the cuddles and kisses demanded by his needy Parents and Grandparents on a daily basis :)

Dom rarely cries (except in the early days when he cried all of the time!). We justified this with comments like, 'he just doesn't like a fuss'. His eye contact although improving greatly, was always poor and at best, brief. He has always played obsessively with toys - repeating the same action over and over again and he does no imaginative play. I am sure he thinks to himself when he sees other kids pretending to feed a doll, 'don't those kids know that dolls don't eat food?'

Dom never waved or pointed to things - an absolute 'red flag' for Autism. It is only in the last month that we have taught him how to wave - it is a completely un-natural thing for him, although he clearly loves the cheers and laughter he gets in response to his wave which is more like a flap :)

He will now point at things that he is counting or wants to show you, but we have had to teach him to do this. All these things for him, are not instinctive.

One significant behaviour that has distressed me greatly is Dom's inability to let us comfort him when he has hurt himself or is in pain. It always seemed that we were causing him more distress when

trying to comfort him. This would inevitably lead to melt-downs (far, far more intense than your average tantrum) where he would scream, throw things and at times become violent, hitting us repeatedly.

Earlier warning signs from when he was a baby was his (continued) obsession with the front loader washing machine, (at 9 months he would sit in front of the washing machine for an entire cycle -
depending on how many loads we needed to do, this could go on for a long time!) his obsession
with the vacuum cleaner (spinning the wheels for hours on end and crying inconsolably if it was put away!) and ceiling fans. My goodness ceiling fans have been a MASSIVE obsession. As has the
DVD, coffee machine.... Should I go on? :) He has also always loved red lights. Dom loves numbers
and would sit in front of the stove and call out the red numbers on the digital clock while I cooked dinner. His knowledge of numbers is phenomenal, as is his memory.

Things finally came to a head about 3 months ago when we became considerably more concerned

about his tantrums and outbursts at home. Although he doesn't hit other children or his kindy

teacher's (thank goodness), he does hit those who love him most. Yes, even my beautiful Dad has copped a few bops on his bald head. Thankfully Dom's wonderful kindy teachers did their homework, expressed concerns about the fact that Dom doesn't socialise with other children, plays obsessively with toys as well as countless other concerns, and the rest my friends is history.

Dom can speak and what he can say, he says really well. You should hear him sing - he has a beautiful singing voice! He does not however, make conversation. He only communicates needs and wants. If I ask him how his day was at kindy, I am always met with silence. I cannot wait for him to have conversations with me. Having said that, he has a smile that can melt your heart and other ways that he communicates with you. You can tell when he has had a good day because his beautiful blue eyes are clear and sparkly - like when you hop out of a pool. On days where he is overwhelmed his eyes are heavy and almost cloudy, giving nothing away at all - deep in thought and troubled.

I could not write this post however, without also making comment on the wrong things to say to someone who has had a child diagnosed with ASD. I don't mean this to sound nasty, ungrateful or unkind but things have been said to me over the past couple of months that have caused me considerable frustration, often from well meaning people who have simply know idea what to say.

Allow me if you will, to provide some feedback.

Making comments like, 'we are all on the spectrum though aren't we?' is not helpful. This comment
has been made in jest I get that, but there is a considerable difference between having little quirks that cause you no interruption to your daily life, compared to the enormity of and the undeniable distress of having Autism. It is beyond heartbreaking to see you child so upset and not be able to do a thing to help them.

This is similar to comments like, 'it could be so much worse'. We realise that but at this point in time, this provides me with little comfort.
Someone has even said to me, 'he could have cancer!' We are obviously beyond grateful that this is not the case, but again comments like these deny parents an opportunity to appropriately express their grief and sadness. My best friends response was perfect. She told me she was sorry. She didn't try to make it better, she allowed me to talk. I am yet (thankfully) to have anyone comment on whether I am concerned that immunising Dom, caused his Autism.

So, there we go. We are ok. We will start intervention and eventually adjust to this diagnosis. I wonder how long it will take me to become completely comfortable with Dom's diagnosis, but remain beyond grateful to my Mum and Dad, family and wonderful friends who have shown me (us) such genuine love and concern over the past couple of months.
We are definitely a very lucky little family and so blessed to have such a beautiful little boy.

Apologies for the crazy formatting on this post, but I wanted to publish this regardless. Once again, Blogger seems to be full of gremlins :) .....

Tuesday, August 19, 2014

If I am not recovering from night shift, I usually spend the day rushing around tidying, washing, vacuuming and trying to do a little baking. Like all mums, there is no 'down time,' but I always feel like I have had a productive day. I must confess today, I did however put my feet up momentarily to watch Wonderland - regrettable I know. :)

So, our week ahead is going to be full. I am working three shifts and we have 2 important appointments scheduled for Dominic. Both appointments are related to the outcome of his assessment for ASD and early intervention that needs to be commenced. I am feeling a mixture of emotions, but mostly positive and just eager to find out what the experts think we need to do. Lots of work ahead and decisions to be made.

In the spirit of positive thinking, I decided that I should make us a big fat chocolate cake. Although I still predominantly cook healthier foods, one should always make exceptions for treats don't you think?

I got this recipe from BabyMac. If you haven't checked Beth's blog out, you really should.
The cake is called "Anne" (check her blog out for the reasons why), and according to Beth, is the 'perfect' chocolate cake.

Here is a photo of my version of 'Anne'. It was delicious - the perfect accompaniment to my pre-night shift coffee and will undoubtedly put spring into my step for what should be a very productive week.

Friday, August 8, 2014

So, I have been missing in action for sometime. I have deliberated long and hard about writing this post.

Do I need to even explain to you why I haven't written for so long? I do feel like I owe you an explanation though. I love this blog. I have missed this blog but there may be a few things that I mention from time to time now, that are new. That I haven't mentioned before. Quite a few things, life changing things have happened in our family since I last wrote.

I don't want to go into too much detail. It would take me days to write all the things that have happened in our little family over the past 6 weeks. Hopefully, by letting people know where we are at, they will understand why at the moment things that may be so easy for some families, like having a BBQ in the park, are just that little bit harder for ours. I hope that by letting people know about Dom's ASD (Autistic Spectrum Disorder), you won't feel sorry for me/us - we are the lucky ones to have such a beautiful little boy after all. I just want you to be aware and maybe on the odd occasion, just let me 'vent' - through this little blog.

I will have some friends who read this post today, who I have not spoken to about Dominic.

I am sorry that I haven't called you and told you personally. It is not the easiest conversation to have with people - 'Gee, the weather has been great hasn't it? Did I mention that Dom has ASD?' See what I mean?

It does feel strange to even have the word 'Autism' feature in my conversations with people. I am still not a fan of this word. Hopefully in time I will feel differently. Nor am I a fan of the word 'disability'. If anything, I feel like being on the spectrum has the potential to 'en-able' Dominic in ways that you and I can only imagine.

We have had tremendous input from health care professionals so far, and a lot of care and support provided by our family and friends and for me, particularly my brilliant friends at work.

Dominic is three, the greatest age to begin early intervention for ASD.

Dominic talks - mostly when he wants something or has something that he wants to share with you.

In our situation this is usually to talk about numbers ('1,3 and 5 are odd Mummy!) or trains. Boy, do we love trains - and home appliances :)

The difference for Dom, unlike some children with ASD, is he is trying so hard to engage with us and people, particularly other children around him. He loves Montessori (we love his teachers too!) and he wants to be part of his little community. He is making that very clear to us and the health care professionals that have met him during his assessment process. This is tremendously reassuring.

We have good reason to believe that with early intervention, he will thrive. Just to be able to ask him how his day has been and for him to answer us and smile, will be the most unbelievably brilliant day. For him to wave me off to work will be amazing! Dominic did wave when he was 9 months old. This soon stopped, never to be done again - in retrospect, one of our early warning signs.

We are not sure what early intervention will involve at this stage. I will keep you posted.

In the meantime, I am back.

I still love decorating, photography, baking and gardening except now, I am also the mother of a gorgeous little boy with ASD.

x

This photo was taken at the Kindy Disco a few weeks back. We did dance together but the disco lights were far more appealing :)

About Me

I am a mother, a child health nurse/midwife, wife, daughter, sister and friend.
I have an unhealthy obsession with blogs, interior design magazines and cakes.
This blog is for me to keep record of all the things I love about homes and decorating and the things that inspire me from day to day.